Management & Operations

BART, unions reach agreement, resume service

The Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and its unions reached an agreement late last Thursday to extend the current contracts for 30 days. BART trains began running at 3 p.m. last Friday, ending the strike.

Last week, BART released the following statement from GM Grace Crunican regarding the agreement between BART and its unions to extend the current agreement for 30 days:

"I am happy to announce the BART system will be open and fully operational at 3 p.m. on Friday.

I want to thank Labor Secretary Marty Morgenstern and his fine mediation team for all their help and support in crafting this deal, which will allow us to continue bargaining while running the trains.

We look forward to continuing our work with Secretary Morgenstern and his mediators.

Unfortunately, the issues that brought us to this point remain unresolved. Despite lots of hard work, BART and its unions have failed to come to an agreement on contract issues that matter to all of us today and into the future. We still have a wide gap of disagreements to bridge over the next 30 days.

What we share in common is a commitment to our passengers and the mission of public transit.

That focus is why we stand together tonight to announce that we will continue working to reach an agreement during the next 30 days while the trains continue to run. It is my resolve to bargain in good faith and to keep the trains running.

The BART bargaining teams on both sides of the table have worked tirelessly to bargain a new contract under difficult circumstances. Their work is appreciated. Most importantly for me, I want to welcome back all the BART employees who have been on strike during the past week.Now let's get the trains moving."

A fully autonomous, 15-passenger electric shuttle manufactured by French firm NAVYA will support research and provide self-guided tours of Mcity, the university's test site for connected and automated vehicles.

The AV passenger shuttle will run a fixed-route stopping at designated stops within an office park. The pilot will begin with two vehicles — each with a customer service agent onboard for passenger questions and information.